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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 250 / Thursday, December 29, 2016 / Rules and Regulations
PART 635—ATLANTIC HIGHLY
MIGRATORY SPECIES
1. The authority citation for part 635
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.; 16 U.S.C.
1801 et seq.
2. In § 635.15, revise paragraph (b)
introductory text and add paragraph
(b)(9) to read as follows:
■
§ 635.15
Individual bluefin tuna quotas.
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with RULES
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(b) IBQ allocation and usage. An
initial IBQ quota allocation is the
amount of bluefin tuna (whole weight)
in metric tons (mt) that a qualified IBQ
share recipient (i.e., a share recipient
who has associated their permit with a
vessel) is allotted to account for
incidental catch of bluefin tuna during
a specified calendar year. Unless
otherwise required under paragraph
(b)(5) of this section, an Atlantic Tunas
Longline permitted vessel’s initial IBQ
allocation for a particular year is
derived by multiplying its IBQ share
(percentage) by the initial Longline
category quota for that year. NMFS may
transfer additional quota to the Longline
category inseason as authorized under
§ 635.27(a), and in accordance with
§ 635.27(a)(8) and (9), and may
distribute the transferred quota within
the Longline category in accordance
with paragraph (b)(9) of this section.
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(9) Distribution of additional Longline
category quota transferred inseason.
NMFS may distribute the quota that is
transferred inseason to the Longline
category either to all IBQ share
recipients as described under paragraph
(k)(1) of this section or to permitted
Atlantic Tunas Longline vessels that are
determined by NMFS to have any recent
fishing activity based on participation in
the pelagic longline fishery. In making
this determination, NMFS will consider
factors for the subject and previous year
such as the number of BFT landings and
dead discards, the number of IBQ lease
transactions, the average amount of IBQ
leased, the average amount of quota
debt, the annual amount of IBQ
allocation, any previous inseason
allocations of IBQ, the amount of BFT
quota in the Reserve category (at
§ 635.27(a)(7)(i)), the percentage of BFT
quota harvested by the other quota
categories, the remaining number of
days in the year, the number of active
vessels fishing not associated with IBQ
share, and the number of vessels that
have incurred quota debt or that have
low levels of IBQ allocation. NMFS will
determine if a vessel has any recent
fishing activity based upon the best
VerDate Sep<11>2014
14:51 Dec 28, 2016
Jkt 241001
available information for the subject and
previous year, such as logbook, vessel
monitoring system, or electronic
monitoring data. Any distribution of
quota transferred inseason will be equal
among selected recipients; when
inseason distribution is only to Atlantic
Tunas Longline permit holders with IBQ
shares, it will therefore not be based on
the initial IBQ share determination as
specified in paragraph (k)(2) of this
section.
(i) Regional designations described in
paragraph (b)(2) of this section will be
applied to inseason quota distributed to
IBQ share recipients.
(ii) For permitted Atlantic Tunas
Longline vessels with recent fishing
activity that are not qualified IBQ share
recipients, regional designations of
Atlantic (ATL) or Gulf of Mexico (GOM)
will be applied to the distributed quota
based on best available information
regarding geographic location of sets as
reported to NMFS during the period of
fishing activity analyzed above in this
paragraph, with the designation based
on where the majority of that activity
occurred.
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[FR Doc. 2016–31357 Filed 12–28–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No: 151215999–6960–02]
RIN 0648–XF071
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Atlantic Herring Fishery;
Adjustment to the Atlantic Herring
Management Area 1A Annual Catch
Limit
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason
adjustment.
AGENCY:
NMFS adjusts the 2016
fishing year annual catch limit for
Atlantic Herring Management Area 1A
due to an underharvest in the New
Brunswick weir fishery. This action is
necessary to comply with the 2016–
2018 specifications and management
measures for the Atlantic Herring
Fishery Management Plan and to ensure
that accounting of the annual catch limit
is accurate for fishing year 2016.
DATES: Effective December 29, 2016,
through December 31, 2016.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00057
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
95909
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Daniel Luers, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978–282–8457, Fax 978–281–
9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Regulations governing the Atlantic
herring fishery are found at 50 CFR part
648. The regulations require annual
specification of the overfishing limit,
acceptable biological catch (ABC),
annual catch limit (ACL), optimum
yield (OY), domestic harvest and
processing, U.S. at-sea processing,
border transfer, and sub-ACLs for each
management area. The 2016 Domestic
Annual Harvest was set as 104,800
metric tons; an additional 4,704 mt was
added to this total due to an
underharvest during the 2014 fishing
year, and 3 percent of herring catch was
set aside for research in the 2016–2018
specifications (81 FR 75731, November
1, 2016). After these adjustments, the
resulting ACL for the 2016 fishing year
was 106,360 mt, and the ACL allocated
to Area 1A (sub-ACL) was 29,524 mt.
The Area 1A sub-ACL has 295 mt set
aside for fixed gear fisheries west of
Cutler, ME, until November 1, 2016.
Due to the variability of Canadian catch
in the New Brunswick weir fishery, a
1,000-mt portion of the 4,000-mt buffer
between ABC and OY (the buffer to
account for Canadian catch) is allocated
to Area 1A, provided New Brunswick
weir landings are lower than the amount
specified in the buffer.
The NMFS Regional Administrator is
required to monitor the fishery landings
in the New Brunswick weir fishery each
year. If New Brunswick weir fishery
herring catch through October 1 is less
than 4,000 mt, then 1,000 mt will be
subtracted from the management
uncertainty buffer and allocated to the
ACL and Area 1A Sub-ACL as soon as
possible. When such a determination is
made, NMFS is required to publish a
notification in the Federal Register to
adjust the Area 1A sub-ACL upward for
the remainder of the fishing year.
The Regional Administrator has
determined, based on the best available
information, that the New Brunswick
weir fishery catch for fishing year 2016
through October 1, 2016, was 3,478 mt.
Therefore, effective December 29, 2016,
1,000 mt will be allocated to the Area
1A sub-ACL, thereby increasing the
fishing year 2016 Area 1A sub-ACL from
29,524 mt to 30,524 mt. Because any
increase to a sub-ACL also increases the
stock-wide ACL, this allocation
increases the 2016 stock-wide ACL from
106,360 mt to 107,360 mt.
The allocation of 1,000 mt will be
applied to the quota of Area 1A, which
closed on October 18, 2016, before
E:\FR\FM\29DER1.SGM
29DER1
95910
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 250 / Thursday, December 29, 2016 / Rules and Regulations
rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with RULES
implementation of the 2016–2018
Atlantic herring specifications and
management measures. The New
Brunswick weir fishery allocation was
delayed until the new specifications
became effective (December 1, 2016).
When applied to the 2016 quota for
Area 1A, this 1,000 mt increase will
drop the catch total from 94.2 percent of
the quota to 91.1 percent. NMFS closed
Area 1A on October 18 based on the
projection that herring catch would
reach 92 percent of the quota for that
area. In the case where projection falls
short of the 92 percent limit,
characteristics of the high volume
herring fishery make it impracticable to
reopen unless the underage is
substantial. This is due to the capability
of the herring fishing fleet to harvest a
large percentage of the quota in only a
few days, in which case a reopening
would likely result in an overage of the
quota before a closure could be
imposed. For this reason, NMFS uses
discretion in reopening the fishery, and
generally would only do so in the case
of a large underage. In this case, the
allocation of 1,000 mt will only result in
an underage of 0.9 percent and thus is
not large enough to reopen the herring
fishery in Area 1A. This notification
principally ensures that the 2018 fishery
adjustments for underharvest/
VerDate Sep<11>2014
14:51 Dec 28, 2016
Jkt 241001
overharvest (which are based on 2016
catch) will be accurate.
Classification
This action is required by 50 CFR part
648 and is exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866.
The Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds good cause
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive
prior notice and the opportunity for
public comment because it is
impracticable and contrary to the public
interest. This action increases the subACL for Area 1A by 1,000 mt (29,524 mt
to 30,524 mt) through December 31,
2016, thereby relieving a more
restrictive catch limit. The regulations at
§ 648.201(f) require such action to help
mitigate some of the negative economic
effects associated with the reduction in
the Area 1A sub-ACL in the 2016–2018
specifications process. The herring
fishery extends from January 1 to
December 31. Data indicate the New
Brunswick weir fishery landed 3,478 mt
through October 1, 2016. Allowing for
prior notice and public comment on this
adjustment is impracticable because
regulations require this allocation to
occur as quickly as is practicable and for
the remainder of the fishing year. NMFS
was unable to allocate this quota until
the 2016–2018 herring specifications
became effective on December 1, 2016.
PO 00000
Frm 00058
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 9990
Because of the limited time between
December 1 and the end of the U.S.
herring fishing year on December 31, the
delay associated with soliciting public
comment would result in
implementation of regulations after the
effective end date of the fishing year,
which would violate the intent of the
regulation and would not benefit the
public. Further, this is a
nondiscretionary action required by
provisions in the 2016–2018 Atlantic
Herring Specifications and Management
Measures (herring specifications), which
previously provided notice to the public
that this 1,000 mt allocation would
occur if the Canadian catch level was
sufficiently low, and offered full
opportunity to comment on this. The
adjustment required by the regulation is
formulaic. This action simply
effectuates thesemandatory calculations.
NMFS further finds, pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 553(d)(3), good cause to waive
the 30-day delayed effectiveness period
for the reasons stated above.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 22, 2016.
Alan Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016–31588 Filed 12–28–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\29DER1.SGM
29DER1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 250 (Thursday, December 29, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 95909-95910]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31588]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No: 151215999-6960-02]
RIN 0648-XF071
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring
Fishery; Adjustment to the Atlantic Herring Management Area 1A Annual
Catch Limit
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason adjustment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS adjusts the 2016 fishing year annual catch limit for
Atlantic Herring Management Area 1A due to an underharvest in the New
Brunswick weir fishery. This action is necessary to comply with the
2016-2018 specifications and management measures for the Atlantic
Herring Fishery Management Plan and to ensure that accounting of the
annual catch limit is accurate for fishing year 2016.
DATES: Effective December 29, 2016, through December 31, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Luers, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978-282-8457, Fax 978-281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the Atlantic herring
fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648. The regulations require annual
specification of the overfishing limit, acceptable biological catch
(ABC), annual catch limit (ACL), optimum yield (OY), domestic harvest
and processing, U.S. at-sea processing, border transfer, and sub-ACLs
for each management area. The 2016 Domestic Annual Harvest was set as
104,800 metric tons; an additional 4,704 mt was added to this total due
to an underharvest during the 2014 fishing year, and 3 percent of
herring catch was set aside for research in the 2016-2018
specifications (81 FR 75731, November 1, 2016). After these
adjustments, the resulting ACL for the 2016 fishing year was 106,360
mt, and the ACL allocated to Area 1A (sub-ACL) was 29,524 mt.
The Area 1A sub-ACL has 295 mt set aside for fixed gear fisheries
west of Cutler, ME, until November 1, 2016. Due to the variability of
Canadian catch in the New Brunswick weir fishery, a 1,000-mt portion of
the 4,000-mt buffer between ABC and OY (the buffer to account for
Canadian catch) is allocated to Area 1A, provided New Brunswick weir
landings are lower than the amount specified in the buffer.
The NMFS Regional Administrator is required to monitor the fishery
landings in the New Brunswick weir fishery each year. If New Brunswick
weir fishery herring catch through October 1 is less than 4,000 mt,
then 1,000 mt will be subtracted from the management uncertainty buffer
and allocated to the ACL and Area 1A Sub-ACL as soon as possible. When
such a determination is made, NMFS is required to publish a
notification in the Federal Register to adjust the Area 1A sub-ACL
upward for the remainder of the fishing year.
The Regional Administrator has determined, based on the best
available information, that the New Brunswick weir fishery catch for
fishing year 2016 through October 1, 2016, was 3,478 mt. Therefore,
effective December 29, 2016, 1,000 mt will be allocated to the Area 1A
sub-ACL, thereby increasing the fishing year 2016 Area 1A sub-ACL from
29,524 mt to 30,524 mt. Because any increase to a sub-ACL also
increases the stock-wide ACL, this allocation increases the 2016 stock-
wide ACL from 106,360 mt to 107,360 mt.
The allocation of 1,000 mt will be applied to the quota of Area 1A,
which closed on October 18, 2016, before
[[Page 95910]]
implementation of the 2016-2018 Atlantic herring specifications and
management measures. The New Brunswick weir fishery allocation was
delayed until the new specifications became effective (December 1,
2016).
When applied to the 2016 quota for Area 1A, this 1,000 mt increase
will drop the catch total from 94.2 percent of the quota to 91.1
percent. NMFS closed Area 1A on October 18 based on the projection that
herring catch would reach 92 percent of the quota for that area. In the
case where projection falls short of the 92 percent limit,
characteristics of the high volume herring fishery make it
impracticable to reopen unless the underage is substantial. This is due
to the capability of the herring fishing fleet to harvest a large
percentage of the quota in only a few days, in which case a reopening
would likely result in an overage of the quota before a closure could
be imposed. For this reason, NMFS uses discretion in reopening the
fishery, and generally would only do so in the case of a large
underage. In this case, the allocation of 1,000 mt will only result in
an underage of 0.9 percent and thus is not large enough to reopen the
herring fishery in Area 1A. This notification principally ensures that
the 2018 fishery adjustments for underharvest/overharvest (which are
based on 2016 catch) will be accurate.
Classification
This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds good
cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior notice and the
opportunity for public comment because it is impracticable and contrary
to the public interest. This action increases the sub-ACL for Area 1A
by 1,000 mt (29,524 mt to 30,524 mt) through December 31, 2016, thereby
relieving a more restrictive catch limit. The regulations at Sec.
648.201(f) require such action to help mitigate some of the negative
economic effects associated with the reduction in the Area 1A sub-ACL
in the 2016-2018 specifications process. The herring fishery extends
from January 1 to December 31. Data indicate the New Brunswick weir
fishery landed 3,478 mt through October 1, 2016. Allowing for prior
notice and public comment on this adjustment is impracticable because
regulations require this allocation to occur as quickly as is
practicable and for the remainder of the fishing year. NMFS was unable
to allocate this quota until the 2016-2018 herring specifications
became effective on December 1, 2016. Because of the limited time
between December 1 and the end of the U.S. herring fishing year on
December 31, the delay associated with soliciting public comment would
result in implementation of regulations after the effective end date of
the fishing year, which would violate the intent of the regulation and
would not benefit the public. Further, this is a nondiscretionary
action required by provisions in the 2016-2018 Atlantic Herring
Specifications and Management Measures (herring specifications), which
previously provided notice to the public that this 1,000 mt allocation
would occur if the Canadian catch level was sufficiently low, and
offered full opportunity to comment on this. The adjustment required by
the regulation is formulaic. This action simply effectuates
thesemandatory calculations. NMFS further finds, pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3), good cause to waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness period
for the reasons stated above.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 22, 2016.
Alan Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-31588 Filed 12-28-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P